


whatever this is

by taeyomi (buttercream)



Series: free, we're so free (nct college au) [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Kisses, lots of kissing and johnten in denial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 03:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14179131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercream/pseuds/taeyomi
Summary: He doesn’t know why it bothers him so much that Ten has brought a new friend to their hangout. Ten’s friendly like that, he’s bound to end up with fifty new friends by the end of each week. And he’s touchy. His constant need for human contact is basically the only reason he can occasionally be found in Johnny’s bed.





	whatever this is

**Author's Note:**

> so, this has turned into a series. i have no idea where it's going, pls bear with me.

The pub isn’t crowded today. Unusual for clone night. Johnny guesses there might be a rager going on somewhere in a frat house. He wouldn’t know, he couldn’t care less about it. Well, more beer for him. He takes a sip of his bottle, watching the duo across from him with a smile.

Taeyong is already drunk, and Jaehyun is trying really hard to pretend he doesn’t care there’s a drunk mess invading his personal space. It brings Johnny memories from his own period as Taeyong’s roommate. He’s thankful he got a single room this semester. Jaehyun has no idea what he’s in for.

It’s a regular Friday. Yuta, Doyoung and Mark are playing darts; Taeyong is drunk as per mentioned; Taeil is gushing about the guy who sits next to him in lit class. Regular Friday. Except for one thing.

Ten is nowhere to be found. 

Yuta usually knows Ten’s whereabouts, but tonight he showed up alone. No one inquired about Ten’s absence and Johnny wouldn’t be the one to break the silence. Even though he’s dying to know.

The last time he saw Ten was a week ago when he dropped by Johnny’s dorm and, well, kissed him.

Johnny hasn't been able to keep it off his mind ever since it happened. Which is stupid, considering it only makes him crave for more, and Ten was pretty clear about it being a one-time thing. Stupid. 

He's trying. He really is. But it's nearly impossible to forget the way Ten plopped himself on Johnny's lap, how his hands settled on Johnny's shoulder. The feel of his lips. 

Finishing his beer in one big gulp, Johnny shakes his head. He tries to focus on Taeil and another tale of Sicheng.

“... what the hell he was saying!” Taeil finishes with a snort. “He's just so… Cute! It makes me wanna poke his cheeks all day long! What do you call this feeling? Huh? Johnny? What do you call it?”

“Love, Taeil. It's love.” Johnny says, glancing around the pub.

Just like magic, Ten chooses that moment to make his way inside. Johnny’s heart skips a bit, and he straightens in his seat.

“Ah… Love, it must be…” Taeil blabbers, and Johnny tunes him out. He focuses on the one coming in.

Ten is wearing a simple white t-shirt and a black cap. Ten’s smile reaches his eyes, and Johnny swoons. The air leaves his lungs for a moment, and his hand clutches at his shirt.

It's when Ten drapes his arm around someone else's shoulder that Johnny realizes he's not alone. It's a round-faced guy, light hair and a sweet face. Johnny hasn't seen him before. He's frowning when Ten spots their table, guiding his companion towards them.

“Hey, it's Ten!” Taeyong yells when they approach. “Make some room for Ten!”

“Hey guys,” Ten greets, looking around the table. “This is Kun.”

Kun waves at them and is welcomed warmly by Taeyong, who quickly pushes Jaehyun to make room for the newcomers. Johnny doesn't know what's going on. Apparently Ten and Kun are study buddies? How come this is the first time Johnny hears about this dude? Although he doesn’t know every single person in Ten’s life he knows… Most of them… And those two look close enough for Ten to feel comfortable with an arm around Kun’s shoulder.

“Hey big guy.” Ten is smiling when Johnny faces him. The kind of smile that tugs at Johnny’s heartstrings, that burns him inside out. 

“Hey,” Johnny replies. “Didn’t think you’d show up.”

“I wouldn’t, but Kun wanted a drink.” He shoots a significant glance to the other one. “Or two.”

They laugh in unison and Johnny hums, his feet restless against the floor, tapping away his feelings. Why do they look so close? It’s true that Ten is a warm person, he wins anyone over in a matter of seconds, but this… This is not…

“Ah ha ha,” Johnny laughs, humourless, wishing he hadn’t drank all of his beer. He considers ordering another one.

“Are you okay?” Ten questions. His eyes meet Johnny’s, searching, concerned. 

“Sure,” Johnny shrugs, running both hands through his hair, not caring if it will mess them up. He’s antsy. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” Ten says, his smile widening. 

“Good.”

“Good.”

Johnny sighs, searching around the pub for the other half of his friends. He spots them by the darts and decides to go there. 

“You wanna play, man?” Yuta asks as soon as Johnny approaches them.

Johnny shakes his head, leaning against the wall. He doesn’t know why it bothers him so much that Ten has brought a new friend to their hangout. Ten’s friendly like that, he’s bound to end up with fifty new friends by the end of each week. And he’s _touchy_. His constant need for human contact is basically the only reason he can occasionally be found in Johnny’s bed. 

“You look bitter,” Doyoung mentions. “Did anyone spit in your beer?”

Johnny rolls his eyes. “Just play your damn game.” He didn’t come here to chat, he came to brood. 

Doyoung frowns at him and Yuta laughs, but they leave him alone.

It doesn’t stay that way for long.

Ten of all people soon steps closer, claiming he will play the next round. Johnny clears his throat, trying to remain unbothered.

“Do you have plans for tonight?” Ten asks once he’s close enough for the conversation to be private. 

Johnny feels his stomach clenching. “What do you mean by plans?”

Ten snorts. “You know what I mean.”

“You wanna sleep over, is that what you mean?”

When Ten steps in front of him, Johnny is caught by surprise. It forces him to look down at Ten, who’s watching him with earnest, nearly glowing eyes.

“If you don’t have anything else planned.” Ten says. Johnny refrains from explaining that even if he had plans he would gladly dispose of them in favor of snuggling with Ten. “Just tell me when you want to go.”

Ten grins, “We can go now.”

 

Johnny shouldn’t be thinking about Kun as he unlocks his door. Ten just left the pub without a single word, what if Kun is wondering about him? Is it petty if Johnny feels good that Ten abandoned his companion to follow him back to his room?

They don’t bother switching on the lights. Soon enough the shoes and coats are off, and Ten is asking if it’s ok if he takes off his pants.

“Huh,” Johnny croaks, feeling a bit weak on the legs.

“You can take yours off too.” Ten casually suggests. “I just think it would be more comfortable for both of us, don’t you think?”

“S-sure. Let’s… Take off our pants then.” Johnny coughs, feeling his whole face burn.

Ten is the first to jump in bed, and Johnny’s eyes can see him in the dark holding out the comforter, inviting him into his own bed.

He doesn’t think his heart has ever beaten this frantically. It feels as if it’s going to break out of Johnny’s chest and explode. He tries to calm down, convince himself that this is just another sleepover, he’s been doing this for months. This is just Ten, snuggling against Johnny, pressing his nose into Johnny’s neck. Ten, who makes Johnny lose his breath by just walking into a room. Ten, whose eyes shine so bright that staring at the sun would hurt less. 

Ten, who tugs Johnny’s face down with fingers on his chin, and plants a soft, close-mouthed kiss right onto Johnny’s lips.

He can’t help the gasp that comes out of his mouth. The other laughs at him, his fingers easily finding Johnny’s hair.

“I thought… I thought you said that was a one-time thing.”

“I know what I said,” Ten whispers against his mouth, biting at Johnny’s lower lip, kissing the corner of his mouth, the bow of his lips. “Is this okay?”

He hasn’t replied yet, but that doesn’t stop Ten from kissing him, from tangling his legs with Johnny’s, from getting so close they’re almost on top of each other.

“It’s okay,” Johnny says, utterly weak, completely powerless.

“Then kiss me back.”

Their lips slide together as if they're done this a million times. It stirs something inside of him, the way Ten gasps when Johnny cups his cheek, how he tightens his grip at Johnny’s hair when their tongues find each other. It makes him wonder if Ten wants him as much as Johnny wants him.

The kiss breaks when Ten decides to go down Johnny’s chin, licking at his neck, tugging at his shirt as if he wants that barrier to disappear. Johnny searches for his mouth, locking their lips together once more, kissing Ten a little deeper. 

Ten shivers when Johnny’s hands touch his bare skin underneath his shirt, and that alone seems to be enough to convince him to remove it. He sits up, pulling up the shirt in a haste. Once he tosses it off the bed, Ten moves on to Johnny’s. 

“Off, off, off,” he mumbles, urging Johnny to help him take it off. And Johnny does, feeling the warmth of Ten’s palms on his chest the second it’s off. “God, why are you so hot?”

Then Ten is kissing him again, both hands tugging at Johnny’s hair, and he thinks he’s going crazy. Ten is assertive, he knows what he’s doing, what he wants. He pulls Johnny down with him, opening his legs for Johnny to settle between them. Johnny props his elbows on the mattress, his face a mere centimeter away from Ten’s. It’s dark, but Johnny can tell his features apart, the curve of his nose, his jawline, his lips. He can see when Ten tilts his chin up, trying to reach Johnny’s mouth. It fills him with something Johnny can’t quite understand. He watches Ten for a moment, thumbs his lower lip, pinches his chin.

“Stop playing with me,” Ten whines, both hands squeezing Johnny’s waist.

Johnny smiles because Ten is just like a kitten. Cute, but fierce. Wants to be taken seriously. Johnny decides to comply because honestly there’s very little he wouldn’t do at Ten’s command. He presses Ten into the mattress and kisses him.

He doesn’t know for how long they lay there, kissing and touching. Maybe twenty minutes. An hour, perhaps. Johnny isn’t really counting, he’s more interested in kissing Ten’s neck, feeling him arch from the bed whenever Johnny licks his mouth open. Eventually the pace slows down, and their frantic kissing turns into gentle pecks and nosing at each other. 

“So…” Johnny starts once they’re cuddling, Ten’s mouth pressing at his jaw, his hands trapped between his own body and Johnny’s. “Is this… A two-time thing?”

Ten is silent for a while, which kind of freaks Johnny out because what if he screwed it up and said something he shouldn’t have? But then he replies, “I don’t know.”

“Who knows, then?” Johnny presses, even though he knows it’s fruitless.

“I like kissing you,” Ten says, sliding an arm around Johnny’s waist. “And I like sleeping with you. But I gotta say, Johnny, I’m not looking for a relationship. Any kind of relationship.”

Oh. Johnny swallows. He guessed that was the case when Ten said that first kiss would be a one-time thing.

“So… Can we just do this? And nothing else?” 

Can he? Can Johnny welcome Ten in his bed every week, cuddle and kiss him and expect nothing else? Can he trust himself not to be bothered by Ten’s friendship with people like Kun, not to care whenever Ten’s hands find someone who’s not Johnny? Ten wants _this_. What about Johnny? What does Johnny want?

He ends up replying Ten with a “Yes” because even though he has no idea what he wants, Johnny knows that he doesn’t want to lose _this_. Whatever _this_ is.


End file.
